On September 13, 2023, the French Embassy, through its Counsellor on Agricultural Affairs, organized a hybrid event aimed at promoting to Australian counterparts the approaches of farmers’ groups in France, as drivers for achieving sustainability targets: reducing the use of inputs, improving soil health, taking better account of animal welfare, improving resilience through value adding.

The event, held both at the Residence of France and virtually, was opened by the French and EU Ambassadors to Australia. After a presentation by the French Ministry of Agriculture on the DEPHY, 30 000 and GIEE farm networks, four farmers’ groups took the floor to testify successively on their projects and results :
– Reducing phytosanitary products in vineyards (Pays de la
Loire)
– Conservation agriculture in mixed crop-livestock farming in
an oceanic climate (Normandy)
– Improving animal welfare and farmer well-being (Brittany)
– Adding value to milk through agroecological practices and the creation of a collective cheese
dairy processing unit (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes)

They presented their practices with a passion and professionalism that were highly convincing to the
Australian audience, which included representatives from the federal government, the State of Victoria,
research, the farming industry and the agency against cruelty to animals.
INRAe then gave an overview of the state of research on the subject, highlighting indicators (including the treatment frequency index), data collection and the scientific and statistical methodologies supporting the analysis of such approaches. This was of particular interest to Australian counterparts, who wished similar work were going on in Australia.
Finally, before a question-and-answer session, the organization Agrifutures Australia took the floor to describe the Australian agricultural sector’s sustainability approach, and in particular its goal of net emissions neutrality by 2030.

While a cocktail party closed the event at the Residence of France, allowing for less formal exchanges, questions from participants, both online and in attendance, focused on key points. These included the feasibility of European Green Deal objectives, in relation to Common Agricultural Policy subsidies; digital technologies (Optidose in viticulture) used by French farmers; and the state of development of organic farming in France.
All in all, the event highlighted the French agroecological approach, supported by a high-level, collaborative research effort, as well as the French conviction in the necessity and achievability of the sustainability objectives set by France and the EU.

Contact : Counsellor (agriculture) Australia/New Zealand, Regional Economic Service – The French Treasury -Embassy of France in Australia, vincent.hebrail@dgtresor.gouv.fr

Published october 20, 2023

The Pantnagar University of Agriculture and Technology organized a cooking competition on the theme of coarse grains, to celebrate the national millet festival. Young French agricultural students from the DEFIAA-2023 program, on placement in India, took part in the competition, and third prize was won by a Franco-Indian pair. « The aim was to make a dish from millet. The Indian girl who was with me came up with the idea of making doughnuts » – testifies Nicolas.

Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology Pantnagar, District- Udham Singh Nagar (Uttarakhand) Cuisine competition organized on coarse grains.

To promote coarse grains in the university, Dr. Sarita Srivastava, Director of Suvarnada Foundation Rudrapur and Dr. Archana Kushwaha, Head of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Home Science, Pantnagar University together organized a food product competition based on coarse grains. In this competition, students from France as well as university students participated. The participants cooked various dishes using millets – Pahari Rabdi, Donut, Cake, Muffin, Laddu, Kheer, Chaat, Halwa, Chikki, Tikki and beverages etc. In the competition, Mrs. Sadhna Sharma got the first place, Charu Bisht and Deeksha Semwal reached the second place followed by the Ayushi Joshi and Nicholas Flottes team. Consolation prizes were received by Mrs. Usha Joshi and Clementine Basquin. In the competition, the winners were honored with prizes by Doctor Alka Goyal, Dean, Home Science College. On this occasion, Shri Rohit Goswami, Director and Shafali Srivastava, Advisor Suvarnada Foundation made special contribution. The dishes were evaluated by Dr. Sabbu Sangeeta, Assistant Professor, Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Dr. Sarita Srivastava and Dr. Archana Kushwaha. Professors and students of Home Science College also participated into the program.

Read more – Internship report, French students on the DEFIAA programme in India – 2023 August

Pantnagar. 21 August 2023.

Aprendices del Liceo Agrícola Francés viajan a Colombia y aprendices del Sena viajan a Francia.

Durante su estancia de 30 días, su principal objetivo es sumergirse en la cultura colombiana y familiarizarse con los procesos agrícolas tropicales, diferentes a los que están acostumbrados en Francia, como parte de su formación como tecnólogos en gestión agroalimentaria….

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Publicado el 13 de junio del 2023

Defiaa, a wave of color over France The India network organizes the reception of Indian students and their internships in a dozen agricultural high schools in France. After a week of integration at the Lycée Agricole Français de Théza in Perpignan, they head off to partner establishments in the DEFIAA program – Developping French Indian Exchanges in Agroffod and Agronomy – and experience the French adventure.

Every year since 2015, the India network of agricultural education has welcomed around 20 Indian students from Pantnagar’s GBPUAT University to France for just over a month. This government agricultural university is one of the most renowned in India, located in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, at the foot of the Himalayas.

Some fifteen young Indian students hosted in March 2023, as part of the DEFIAA program, share their experiences on the Moveagri social network, which is specially dedicated to sharing the experiences of young people in agricultural education. What they all have in common – Indians, French nationals and any other young people who have completed a mobility program abroad – is to share the incredible moments they experienced during their internship or study stay.

They have all set up blogs to describe their impressions and experiences of the DEFIAA mobility program, too, in which they illustrate their stay with numerous photos of their cultural visits from Collioure to Normandy, via Paris and Lyon, as well as the periods they spent attending classes in the various establishments they were assigned to in different French regions.

Mansi talks about her stay at the Chartes – EPL de la Saussaye farm.

In la Saussaye , we learned a lot of things regarding food processing. We made French baguette , wheat flour, apple juice , biscuits , ice cream , sorbet and croissants. We experienced some new ways of working in laboratory that were slightly different from our country. Alongwith we attended microbiology practicals and some English classes. in English classes we got a chance to communicate with the French students and they prepared a lots of questions for us to know about India. This was really an interactive session for us as well as for them.

Annu also tells us what she experienced during her 35 days in France.
We took French language classes, and also got a taste of French dance and cuisine. The next day, we went to Collioure and Saint Cyprien for a real-life experience. It’s a town full of culinary art, art, wine, food, charming people, beautiful markets representing French culture and the sea offering a full range of pleasures. It’s an iconic postcard location. Farid and Charles) and we were lucky enough to visit two institutes (LEGTA les Sardières in Bourg en Bresse and Lycée agricole St Genis Laval in St Genis Laval)…

Goel Krati concludes his blog with a very philosophical message about what comes out of this confrontation with the unknown, inherent in every journey far from home.
I think it goes without saying that when you live away from home in another country, you quickly build your self-confidence and develop your cultural sensitivity. Eventually, you’ll stand out from the crowd, and that’s when your learning abroad will be an asset to your success in life. These are life skills that will help you to integrate easily into the global working environment and give you confidence when interacting with people from another culture or country. It can be intimidating at first, but it’s only a matter of time before you build up your confidence, but it’s definitely a holistic learning experience.

To understand the feeling of such an adventure, there’s nothing better than reading all the blogs they created during their stay and discovering the photos they deliver to us by surfing on the Moveagi platform. 15 young Indians submitted to the exercise and as many blogs were created to follow them step by step during more than a month in France, They criss-crossed the whole of France, going from farm to farm, visiting food-processing factories, discovering French culture and tasting local products.

Read all about the young Indians taking part in Defiaa 2023 on Moveagri.
This summer 2023, their French counterparts will share the same experience in India, as part of the same study and internship program.

Contacts: Chantal Desprats and Christophe Groell, India network coordinators, chantal.desprats@educagri.fr, christophe.groell@educagri.fr